What’s more fun than spending the day out hunting for antiques and collectibles and then breaking for a delicious California inspired lunch at The Kess Café in Plantsville, Connecticut? The word is out, this darling Village of Plantsville, part of Southington located in Central Connecticut is the perfect destination for folks who love to shop for antiques and collectibles and love to eat. The Kess, Cafe, a cozy, quirky vintage style eatery offers a very creative menu in a funky setting overlooking the Quinnipiac River.

Noticing that more and more groups were lunching at her friend Tim Kesser’s , Kess Café, C. Dianne decided to organize Lunch & Antique Tours for women’s groups looking for a charming and entertaining afternoon out in a small town with 8 antique shops.

Zweig’s own shop, called “Kitsch-n-Stuff” is located on the mezzanine level of The Plantsville General Store Antique Center, a 5000 square feet multi-dealer group antique emporium owned by Elaine and Dave Maloney, which is just around the corner from the very popular Kess Café on Main Street. Many women’s groups have already taken Zweig up on the invitation to come to Plantsville and the calendar is filling in nicely.

Adding another perk to the visit, Zweig , the author of Hot Kitchen and Home Collectibles of the 30s, 40s, 50s and the soon to be released Hot Cottage Collectibles for Vintage Style Homes offers groups the opportunity for a book discussion during lunch if they choose. It’s a lot to squeeze into an afternoon out, so Zweig encourages visitors to come to town early and get a head start on their antiquing.

Eight antique and collectible establishments make up the town of Plantsville which is anchored by two large multi-dealer shops, The Plantsville General Store Antique Center and Plantsville Station Antiques. Six additional antique and collectibles shops; Village Antique Shop , Vintage Mercantile, Antiquities, Country Cottage, Viva la Vintage, The Frame shop are clustered together steps from The Kess Café. A brand new shop has just moved into town at the time of this writing.

This is the time of the year that many women’s clubs, such as The Junior Women’s Club, The Red Hat Society as well as other social, civic and community groups plan their calendars and meetings for next year . Zweig encourages program chairpersons to consider a visit to Plantsville for their group and assures them that they will be delighted with their lunch (or dinner) at the Kess Café and with their tour of the town.

To make arrangements for a special group lunch and tour contact Elaine Maloney, owner of The Plantsville General Store Antique Center, 860-621-5255 www.pgsantiques.com or C. Dianne Zweig www.cdiannezweig.com 860-675-7763